LOCAL NEWS
MONROVIA – Waka Williams, a prominent instructor at the state-run University of Liberia (UL), has openly rejected the mandate issued by Acting UL President Dr. Layli Maparyan, declaring that academic staff will not return to the lecture halls until long-standing grievances are fully addressed.
By: Moses David Tinnie
Williams said several critical issues must be resolved before faculty members resume teaching at the university.
He is calling for the immediate payment of months of unpaid salary arrears owed to both full-time and adjunct academic staff.
He also wants the administration to rehabilitate critical campus facilities, including leaking roofs, broken furniture, inadequate sanitation systems, and unreliable power supply at the Capitol Hill and Fendall campuses.
Williams further called for a formal commitment from the administration to provide adequate teaching materials and functional learning environments before requiring faculty members to return to work.
“Forcing a return to the classroom without resolving our financial survival or fixing basic, deplorable campus conditions is completely unacceptable,” Williams stated.
He emphasized that faculty members remain resolute and will not be coerced into teaching under conditions that compromise the dignity of educators or the quality of learning for students.
The standoff could further prolong academic disruptions at Liberia’s flagship tertiary institution, leaving thousands of students in uncertainty as the administration faces mounting pressure to provide concrete solutions to the faculty’s concerns rather than impose return-to-work deadlines.
